C0deZer0Oc'D To Rhythm And Police Premium Member join:2001-10-03 Tempe, AZ |
C0deZer0
Premium Member
2008-Nov-25 1:45 am
[net] Help me find a wireless card for this guy!Hey everyone, Long story short, along with upgrading from Verizon DSL to FiOS, my roomie also overhauled his computer to a new machine with the following: intel Q9550 eVGA 750i SLI FTW motherboard 4GB of RAM eVGA 9800GTX+ Windows XP SP3 Anyway, he initially had a D-Link PCI wireless card in the prior system. But that thing never seemed to like the new Actiontec modem from Verizon. He's since been playing round-robin trying to find a freakin' wireless card that will cooperate. Linksys WMP300N - though the software would install, on the reboot to complete install stage, only the wireless network agent from Linksys was really installed. The driver would never start for the card, and trying to run the install again only led to stage 1 (pre-installing the driver before installing the physical card). I've tried, it, he's tried it, both with the CD that came in the box and with downloading the latest build of the driver from Linksys' website and putting it on a separate CD for him; it never worked. Zyxel wireless USB adapter, and Belkin wireless USB adapter - they work... just. Signal stability seems meager with either of them, and neither will see even close to the 20/5 speeds we're paying for here. Edimax wireless PCI card - for whatever stupid reason, this card would absolutely refuse to talk to our specific router/modem. It would always latch on to the unsecured networks that were around the neighborhood, which simply just won't do. I think he's literally gone through about five separate adapters (in PCI and USB form), and they either won't like the connection, or don't like his shiny new system. And it has to be wireless because we simply can't run any ethernet through the walls or along the floors because that's just a trip-and-fall waiting to happen. I'd offer to loan him this Netgear PCI card I've got in one of my older desktops if I'd thought it would help, but I'm not sure that would fix it either. So what can he/we do here? Is there a (preferably PCI) wireless card that will like the FiOS router and his new machine too? It's pretty ridiculous that it would be this difficult to get one that will. |
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bump3
Anon
2008-Nov-25 8:08 pm
um, sound like you already "found" a wireless card. Most any standard wifi card will work. Actiontec does not support 802.11N. Configuration of the wifi card and router is "the" secret to get things working. |
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xirian Premium Member join:2003-01-26 Beacon, NY |
to C0deZer0
Install the card in the machine and let xp's hardware wizard find the driver instead of installing the crapware that comes with the card. Then use windows xp's built in wifi management. |
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C0deZer0Oc'D To Rhythm And Police Premium Member join:2001-10-03 Tempe, AZ |
C0deZer0
Premium Member
2008-Nov-26 9:21 am
said by xirian:Install the card in the machine and let xp's hardware wizard find the driver instead of installing the crapware that comes with the card. Then use windows xp's built in wifi management. None of these have a readily available driver in Windows, and without a wireless card, he can't go online himself to get one. |
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I have a 100' patch cord that will allow me to connect a computer almost anywhere in my house without actually running permanent cat5. If that won't work, I move the PC.
Connect wired to get a good driver. Or download a current installer and run it from a flash drive.
Then go back to wireless. |
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C0deZer0Oc'D To Rhythm And Police Premium Member join:2001-10-03 Tempe, AZ |
C0deZer0
Premium Member
2008-Nov-26 11:19 am
That is simply not possible, because we just don't have an ethernet cable long enough to do it. And it's basically a trip-and-fall waiting to happen in this house. |
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1) pick up the computer 2) move it closer so the cable you have will reach it 3) connect to the net, download & install the correct driver 4) once wireless adapter is working: 4) pick up the computer 5) move it back to where you want it. |
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C0deZer0Oc'D To Rhythm And Police Premium Member join:2001-10-03 Tempe, AZ |
C0deZer0
Premium Member
2008-Nov-26 1:54 pm
We still need a wireless card that will *expletive* work in this system and get the kind of speeds we're paying for. |
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icici join:2005-12-06 Ashburn, VA |
icici
Member
2008-Nov-26 2:15 pm
Did u optimize the (wireless) connection for FiOS (on ther wireless card that works but does not provide provisioned speed)? I dont have the URL handily available but a search on Verizon's website for "FiOS optimizer" should let u locate it.
I had to run that on my PCs when I got FiOS (2 years ago) before I got the optimum/provisioned speed. |
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C0deZer0Oc'D To Rhythm And Police Premium Member join:2001-10-03 Tempe, AZ 1 edit |
C0deZer0
Premium Member
2008-Nov-26 2:17 pm
FiOS optimizer? Never heard of it before. **EDIT** I'll try looking for that, too. |
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2 edits |
to C0deZer0
said by C0deZer0:We still need a wireless card that will *expletive* work in this system and get the kind of speeds we're paying for. The trouble with fixing a friend's computer problem is that it is very easy to get *expletive* because it's giving me fits and not cooperating. Been there and done that. You said earlier "I think he's literally gone through about five separate adapters (in PCI and USB form), and they either won't like the connection, or don't like his shiny new system." So, I'm not sure why a wireless adapter would not like his system. I'm guessing you took glasses with you to the store to read the fine print in System Requirements. Lord knows I'm in trouble without my glasses. Why a wireless adapter would have problems with the Actiontec is a different question. Actiontec does not do N at all. If an adapter is connecting but not very well, set the Actiontec to G-only, not mixed. I found a D-Link Wireless G PCI Adapter with Speedboost (whatever that is) for $30 or so at BestBuy. Works like a charm 20 feet away. I have two occasional laptops that visit and connect, but they wanted pre-N, so my solution was to use wireless from another device entirely. Since there are a number of variables when working with wireless, if you got a connection but it's weak, try to improve it. I use Netstumbler to help quantify signal strength while pointing the antenna. Sometimes it is not a direct path that yields a good signal. Look into improving strength with a reflector. Lots of ways to work it. Straight Actiontec wireless will give you problems, though. Edit to add link: » www.wikihow.com/Improve- ··· eceptionThere's lots more including with pictures. Google "improve wireless reception". |
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just wondering to C0deZer0
Anon
2008-Nov-26 10:39 pm
to C0deZer0
If you could provide a list of all wifi cards/adapters that he tried maybe we can tell you if any of us have had similar problems/fixes for them. |
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just wondering |
just wondering to C0deZer0
Anon
2008-Nov-26 10:40 pm
to C0deZer0
Model numbers would help. |
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C0deZer0Oc'D To Rhythm And Police Premium Member join:2001-10-03 Tempe, AZ |
to birdfeedr
Linksys WMP300N - the driver online and on the CD were the same. The install would run, then when instructed to shut down to install the actual card and restart, the driver would refuse to start. Called up Linksys support and all they could say was that the error code that Windows' device manager would put out indicated a hardware incompatibility problem. Edimax EW-7128G PCI Wireless G - he bought this one because of the numerous reviews and positive regard on the site. Software installed, driver installed, but the thing would refuse to connect to our own network. It always insisted on connecting to someone else's unsecured network. D-Link WGL-G510 - no matter whether we used WEP or WPA with the router, on his new system or the older one he'd had, it refused to connect or hold a signal with the new Verizon FiOS router. Some ZyXel USB wireless one we'd found - Holds a signal, but its speeds are garbage. On a good day, only be able to get like 2/1 speeds. Some Belkin USB wireless G adapter - came with this dock to sit it up on the desk, which improved the signal strength with either USB wireless dongle. It was somewhat faster in internet speed, but it was hopeless at keeping the signal. Constant drops of connection. |
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EMC26 join:2007-08-21 Tampa, FL |
EMC26
Member
2008-Nov-27 12:21 am
Have you tried to connect without encryption? You might try to change the channel on the router - say to ch 11. You may be getting some interference from other networks nearby. Also, you may get interference from cordless phones in the 2 Ghz range. Also possible a wireless security system could interfere with the signals.
Good luck.... |
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C0deZer0Oc'D To Rhythm And Police Premium Member join:2001-10-03 Tempe, AZ |
C0deZer0
Premium Member
2008-Nov-27 12:43 am
Not for nothing, but we both agreed there was no way in @#$% we were going to run an unsecured network. Even now I'd spent about an hour on the phone with Nintendo to get my DS Lite to finally get online with the new setup here, and it finally took manually assigning an IP before it could connect to the Belkin router-turned-AP. |
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TechnogeezAgape in amazement. Premium Member join:2007-01-20 |
to C0deZer0
sounds like channel interference. load up network stumbler and see which channel(s) are free(est) around you. force your actiontec to that channel and your adapter should follow. fios has generated an unintentional storm of wi-fi networks, and channel congestion is getting really bad in densely penetrated neighborhoods. i know it is in mine! |
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Mannus Premium Member join:2005-10-25 Fort Wayne, IN |
to C0deZer0
My suggestion would be to pull the device driver off of the installation CD and use Windows new hardware wizard to install. You avoid installing crapware that usually comes w/ the install CD's. Then let windows manage the wireless device. You might have to find the driver from the manufacture's website also. |
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